An Interesting Conversation
So I had a really interesting conversation yesterday. At choir practice, I was talking with one of the girls who seems to be something of a leader in the Student Christian Fellowship (SCF) on campus, and she asked me what college Christian groups are like in the States. I didn't really feel qualified to answer that because I went to a school that was predominantly Jewish and that at that point in my life, I wasn't really involved with Christianity at all-- on campus or otherwise. She explained that the reason she asked is because she feels that the Christian worship and activities and organizations at UCC are lacking something. I agreed and volunteered that, from what I've seen so far, most Christianity in Kerala is very one-dimensional in one (and in some cases both) of two ways. Christianity here is ancient (by Christian standards)- the apostle Thomas of Syria allegedly converted several Brahmin families in 52 AD- so a pretty good percentage of worship services are just rote repetition of centuries-old formulas. There is also, however, a very modern evangelical movement that teaches nothing but pop-theology (the religious equivalent of Brittney Spears, perhaps) that just wants to make you feel good without making you think or challenging your sensibilities. Either way, Christianity is robbed of its vitality and loses what, for me, is the crux of its message.
Don't get me wrong-- there's nothing at all wrong with centuries-old traditions. They can provide us with strong spiritual roots and keep us in touch with our spiritual ancestors. They can be a way of making our worship and faith timeless and eternal. But there's a fine line between timeless and dead. And when tradition is practiced just for tradition's sake, we've got problems. When we do the Dance and say the litanies but don't think about why we do them or what they mean, we're just resounding gongs and clanging cymbals. And this is precisely the case here. Worship at the College is dead and repetitive. The deified founders of the College put together a small book of worship- and these same services, with no variation, have been repeated every Sunday since 1921. I was informed that the students don't enjoy these services and don't get anything out of them. When I asked why nothing has been done about this, she said that the Powers That Be at the college are very protective of these worship services; they absolutely insist on the persistence of tradition, for better or worse. And then she said something that really struck me- 'these services are to worship the college and its traditions-- not God.' And that really sums it up, doesn't it? When our worship is nothing but tradition for its own sake, what we're really worshipping is ourselves and our traditions- not God.
And there's also nothing wrong with pop-theology either, per se. It's important to believe in a God who strengthens us when we're weak, who forgives our sins and answers our prayers in the affirmative. It's important to worship a Christ who suffered and died so that we might be made clean and be saved. But we walk a slippery slope when we do this without listening to the message of Christ's life. By focusing just on His death and resurrection and what they mean to us, we ignore His life. And by denying the messages of Christ's life, we rob Christianity of its most important messages and its life. Jesus was born into the world and did exactly what pop-theologians avoid; He made people think, He stood in direct opposition to the unjust power structures of His time, He called into question the way people were living-- especially those who portrayed themselves and were esteemed as being particularly holy, pious, and devout. He taught peace, compassion, and generosity. He told us to care for one another; to relinquish our love of material posessions and live simple, responsible lives; to take up our crosses and follow the road He walked. To follow the example of His teachings and His life.
Do we feel truly challenged by the Christ we worship? Do we view Christianity as a call to fundamentally alter the material realities of our lives? Or do we want our religion to "sing me a song about Jesus that'll make me feel happy inside; sing me a song about forgiveness that'll make this lifestyle feel justified?"( in the words of singer-songwriter David LaMotte). The teachings of Jesus' life are conspicuously absent from many Indian churches (and many American ones, for that matter). There must be more money in making people feel good about their lives.
The young people in the Church (in India and the US) have a crucial job and a huge responsibility- to bring joy and life to the worship of God and Christ while still retaining and nurturing our tradition's roots. To take seriously Christ's call to humility, service, suffering, and responsibility, and to do so joyfully.
These are all things we talked about, and I'm glad we did. I was beginning to think I was just a judgemental American criticizing Indian institutions that I know nothing about. It's reassuring to find out that there are young Indian men and women who see these problems in our religion, acknowledge them as problems, and want to do something about it. The question now is what? and how?
So I had a really interesting conversation yesterday. At choir practice, I was talking with one of the girls who seems to be something of a leader in the Student Christian Fellowship (SCF) on campus, and she asked me what college Christian groups are like in the States. I didn't really feel qualified to answer that because I went to a school that was predominantly Jewish and that at that point in my life, I wasn't really involved with Christianity at all-- on campus or otherwise. She explained that the reason she asked is because she feels that the Christian worship and activities and organizations at UCC are lacking something. I agreed and volunteered that, from what I've seen so far, most Christianity in Kerala is very one-dimensional in one (and in some cases both) of two ways. Christianity here is ancient (by Christian standards)- the apostle Thomas of Syria allegedly converted several Brahmin families in 52 AD- so a pretty good percentage of worship services are just rote repetition of centuries-old formulas. There is also, however, a very modern evangelical movement that teaches nothing but pop-theology (the religious equivalent of Brittney Spears, perhaps) that just wants to make you feel good without making you think or challenging your sensibilities. Either way, Christianity is robbed of its vitality and loses what, for me, is the crux of its message.
Don't get me wrong-- there's nothing at all wrong with centuries-old traditions. They can provide us with strong spiritual roots and keep us in touch with our spiritual ancestors. They can be a way of making our worship and faith timeless and eternal. But there's a fine line between timeless and dead. And when tradition is practiced just for tradition's sake, we've got problems. When we do the Dance and say the litanies but don't think about why we do them or what they mean, we're just resounding gongs and clanging cymbals. And this is precisely the case here. Worship at the College is dead and repetitive. The deified founders of the College put together a small book of worship- and these same services, with no variation, have been repeated every Sunday since 1921. I was informed that the students don't enjoy these services and don't get anything out of them. When I asked why nothing has been done about this, she said that the Powers That Be at the college are very protective of these worship services; they absolutely insist on the persistence of tradition, for better or worse. And then she said something that really struck me- 'these services are to worship the college and its traditions-- not God.' And that really sums it up, doesn't it? When our worship is nothing but tradition for its own sake, what we're really worshipping is ourselves and our traditions- not God.
And there's also nothing wrong with pop-theology either, per se. It's important to believe in a God who strengthens us when we're weak, who forgives our sins and answers our prayers in the affirmative. It's important to worship a Christ who suffered and died so that we might be made clean and be saved. But we walk a slippery slope when we do this without listening to the message of Christ's life. By focusing just on His death and resurrection and what they mean to us, we ignore His life. And by denying the messages of Christ's life, we rob Christianity of its most important messages and its life. Jesus was born into the world and did exactly what pop-theologians avoid; He made people think, He stood in direct opposition to the unjust power structures of His time, He called into question the way people were living-- especially those who portrayed themselves and were esteemed as being particularly holy, pious, and devout. He taught peace, compassion, and generosity. He told us to care for one another; to relinquish our love of material posessions and live simple, responsible lives; to take up our crosses and follow the road He walked. To follow the example of His teachings and His life.
Do we feel truly challenged by the Christ we worship? Do we view Christianity as a call to fundamentally alter the material realities of our lives? Or do we want our religion to "sing me a song about Jesus that'll make me feel happy inside; sing me a song about forgiveness that'll make this lifestyle feel justified?"( in the words of singer-songwriter David LaMotte). The teachings of Jesus' life are conspicuously absent from many Indian churches (and many American ones, for that matter). There must be more money in making people feel good about their lives.
The young people in the Church (in India and the US) have a crucial job and a huge responsibility- to bring joy and life to the worship of God and Christ while still retaining and nurturing our tradition's roots. To take seriously Christ's call to humility, service, suffering, and responsibility, and to do so joyfully.
These are all things we talked about, and I'm glad we did. I was beginning to think I was just a judgemental American criticizing Indian institutions that I know nothing about. It's reassuring to find out that there are young Indian men and women who see these problems in our religion, acknowledge them as problems, and want to do something about it. The question now is what? and how?
posted by Andy at 2:41 PM
1 Comments:
it is important to honor tradition and respect that heritage. But perhaps, slowly, some practices can be added to give vitality to the words. I think of mission projects, outreach; faith in action. Do you think the group would be open to something like that? just a thought.
mom
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